Advance Passenger Information System (APIS)

Through a partnership with ARINC Direct Business Aviation Solutions, NBAA offers Members an option for complying with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) requirements. CBP requires all GA and commercial aircraft on international flights arriving to or departing from the United States to provide passenger manifest and aircraft information prior to departure.

The electronic APIS transmission service offered by NBAA and ARINC Direct meets all applicable regulatory requirements for Part 91/135 transmissions and has been fully approved by CBP. The service offers certain value-added features not available to operators using the APIS service offered by CBP:

Members using the service have access to technical support provided by business aviation flight coordinators at the ARINC Direct operations center 24 hours per day, seven days a week.

Modifications to previous APIS transmissions can be made without having to re-enter details about the flight and passengers.

E-mail confirmation messages from CBP may be automatically forwarded to multiple e-mail accounts.

The real-time CBP approval status of all APIS transmissions is available to the user.

Additional features include the ability to accurately calculate U.S. border crossing location using aircraft ground speed, automatic conversion of entry date/time to the correct time zone, and airport identifier lookup.

Additionally, Members can now use this system to file API for travel to and from Mexico. Under a new mandate, commercial and private operators are now required to submit passenger, crew, and flight data to Mexican immigration officials.

Members can access this service for a fee of $25 per international flight. This nominal fee includes the features described above and enables operators to change the details for a specific flight without incurring additional fees. Please note that filings for travel to/from Mexico will incur an additional $25 fee as information must be submitted to U.S. Customs and Mexican authorities.

When first accessing the service, Members will be prompted to create a new account with ARINC Direct. Once the account has been activated, the company administrator will be able to create additional user accounts at no charge.